


Called to Storybrooke

by BeyondtheBarricade



Category: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis, Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family, World Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-19
Updated: 2015-04-19
Packaged: 2018-03-24 19:28:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3781642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeyondtheBarricade/pseuds/BeyondtheBarricade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Susan Pevensie Darling, after being cursed from entering Aslan's Country, leaves her horn at Mr. Gold's shop in hopes one day someone with magic will blow it so it can call her siblings back to save her and her husband's sister, Wendy. Desperate for any means to have her son back, Regina finds and blows Queen Susan's horn. Soon, they find the lives of those in Storybrooke and the Narnians have intersected more than they first believed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story take place near the beginning of the second season of OUAT when Emma and Snow are in the Enchanted Forest, although some events may be changed around. Narnia is after the series ends. For those who did not finish the series (SPOILER!), everyone but Susan dies and goes to Aslan’s Country.

“I need help,” Regina said as she stormed into Mr. Gold’s shop.  
“I would say so,” he said, taking in her unusually disheveled appearance. She gave him a rather sour look.  
“My son escaped on me the moment he got back. He is determined to not live with me,” she said, her fingers curling into a fist.  
“And why are you coming to me?” Rumpelstiltskin questioned. “I already gave you the spell book. Surely you now have the magic to make him stay.”  
“I need something that will make my son want to come back to me. Holding on to him so hard, it won’t make him love me. I need him to want to be with me,” Regina said, rummaging through some of the various dark items in the shop. “I let him go for now, but I need him back. He’s with his grandfather right now.”  
“So a spell to make him go to you willingly?” Rumpelstiltskin questioned, knowing there was no such thing.  
“Yes. And I don’t want a spell that makes him come willingly but makes him not him anymore,” Regina said, still desperately looking through the items for anything that might work.  
“You know as well as I that there’s nothing for that,” he said, still watching her. He could tell this was the desperate act of a desperate woman.  
“What’s this?” Regina suddenly asked curiously, picking up a decorated horn.  
“It’s a horn, dearie,” Rumpelstiltskin said almost condescendingly.  
“I can see that it’s a horn,” Regina said testily. “What is it for?”  
“That, dearie, I am not so sure of,” he said.  
“It has powerful magic,” she said, entranced. “I can feel it.”  
“As can I. But not the sort from the Enchanted Forest. This magic, it’s something much older than that,” he said.  
“Older? Or from a different world?” Regina frowned.  
“Both. A world that ceased to exist in 1949,” Rumpelstiltskin said. “All but one woman who stayed in this world.”  
“Hm?” Regina said.  
“Her name was Susan Darling. In her fifties or so I would say when she came here. She said she needed a curse lifted. And she would pay me with that. Well this was soon after first arriving in Storybrooke so I didn’t have any magic, but once I felt the magic coming from that horn, I wasn’t about to tell her that,” he said.  
“Where was this Susan from?” Regina said, turning the horn over in her hands. “Any world I’ve heard of?”  
“I would think so. She’s British,” he said. Regina gave him a hard look. “Honest. Her accent was quite clear, and she told me so herself. But that is not where the horn is from.”  
“Then where did she say is it from?” Regina asked impatiently.  
“She didn’t. But I did find out what her maiden name was,” he said slyly.  
“How is a maiden name going to help me?” Regina demanded.  
“Tell me, dearie. Did you ever read Henry a little series called The Chronicles of Narnia?” he asked.  
“Of course I did. He loves fantasy stories. But how is – unless you are saying this Susan is supposedly Queen Susan of Narnia?” she said incredulously.  
“She did say her maiden name was Pevensie, she’s British, and she had that horn. Is it any stranger than any of the other stories here?” he pointed out.  
“So if I blow this horn, some sort of help is guaranteed to come,” Regina said, a slow smile making its way on her lips. She then frowned. “If Susan needed a curse lifted why did she not blow the horn herself? What curse was it anyways?”  
“Do you remember how the story ended?”  
“She remained in this world while her family went on to Aslan’s Country,” Regina mused.  
“Indeed. Although as with all of our stories, it’s not quite as people knew it to be. She did not become silly and frivolous as the books suggest. No, the moment I saw her I could tell that was far from true. And she tells me she was cursed for blasphemy, and that curse involved never going to the world her siblings lived in,” he explained.  
“Blasphemy?” Regina said in surprise.  
“Alas, she didn’t elaborate. But I looked into what I could find on her and apparently she was arrested for arson at a Church,” he said.  
“Huh. I like her already,” she smiled, not too fond of religion herself. “So what did she want?”  
“She asked me about portals into other worlds. While she never told me what world, she mentioned wishing to see her siblings, so I surmise she wanted to travel to Aslan’s Country. Alas, without magic there was little I could do. Not that portal jumping is in my purview,” he said.  
“And yet you have her horn. What did you do to her?” she asked suspiciously.  
“Do to her? Nothing. She gave it to me. She said it was for trying,” he said.  
Regina gave him a hard look.  
“That is truly what she said,” he said in response to her look. He found it hard to believe as well. “I felt there may be more to it, but she left it here. She said she might as well since without magic in this world it was useless to her.”  
“But now there is magic in Storybrooke,” Regina said greedily, turning the horn over in her hand as she inspected it.  
“I don’t know exactly what it will do if it is blown in this world,” Rumpelstiltskin cautioned.  
“It is said to bring whoever blows it help no matter what,” Regina said, raising the horn to her lips. All of Storybrooke shook with its magic. The residents looked about, fearful of what sort of spell had occurred now.  
**************************  
Two Kings and a Queen stood at the banks of the river.  
“Did you hear that?” the young Queen said, turning to her brothers.  
“Someone is calling us,” the younger king said.  
“But it’s not her,” the High King frowned.  
“No, for she has no magic nor much belief in it. But should we answer the horns call we shall find our sister once more,” the Queen said, reaching for a ripple in the air. Her fingers began disappearing and her brothers shouted out. “This is it. The horn created a portal.”  
“But do we answer it?” the High King pondered.  
“Do we have any choice? She’s our sister. It matters not who called us, we return if there is any chance of saving her,” she insisted, stepping through the ripple.  
The two brothers glanced at each other one more time before stepping through.  
************************************************  
At The Lily Garden Retirement Home, an elderly couple was having tea out in the garden when the lady suddenly grabbed her husband’s arm.  
“What is it, dear?” he asked in concern.  
“I felt it. Someone has used my horn,” she said, her face glowing with the energy of a much younger, fiercer woman.  
“Are you sure? After all of the years…I had given up hope,” he said, taking her hands into his wrinkled ones.  
“I’m sure of it. I feel a connection with it,” she said, getting up excitedly, more quickly than she had in years. “We must go. My siblings…I know they will answer it.”  
“And my sister?” her husband said, gripping her hands even more tightly in fear.  
“I know my siblings will do anything to help you get your sister back,” she assured. “Don’t worry, Michael. I’m sure they will be able to find Wendy and John and then all of us can go live in Aslan’s Country together.”


	2. Search

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To keep consistent with the flashback style of Once Upon a Time, flashbacks are included in italics. The beginning of such flashbacks will say where they are. If you have any suggestions on how to do this more clearly, please tell me! And as always, please tell me if there's anything you like, dislike, have suggestions, etc.

_Narnian Golden Ages:_

_“You are all under arrest by order of their Royal Majesties, the Kings and Queens of Narnia,” a herald announced._

_“Alright, Mr. Tumnus,” Susan said. “No need for such dramatics. Hook, this is enough. You have traveled our waters for the last time.”_

_“Aye, your brother said that the last time, lass,” Hook drawled. “Funny that. Just how many last times is it going to be?”_

_“Enough, pirate. Silin, tie him up,” Susan ordered. But as the faun went to tie Hook’s hands – or hand and hook rather – Hook dove for his discarded sword which he had lost in the previous scuffle. Just as quickly, Susan had her sword out._

_As Hook swung at Susan, Mr. Tumnus shouted, “Watch out!”_

_“Not helpful,” Susan muttered under her breath as she ducked and raised her sword. She mustered up enough force that Hook was knock back several steps unexpectedly._

_“Quite forceful there, love,” he drawled._

_“That’s quite enough from you, thank you very much,” she said as primly as one could while swordfighting on a dirty pirate ship after being at sea for several days._

_“Oh, is it love? And just what are you going to do?” Hook said, punctuating his words with sword blows, backing Susan up to the edge of the boat. “Love to see you go for a swim, lass.”_

_“Or how about you head for a swim?” Susan said with a sudden wicked smile, ducking his blow and using her sword to trip Hook. She then kicked away his sword and aimed her own at his neck. “Enough, pirate. You ought to know when you’ve been defeated.”_

_“Not quite, lass,” Hook said with a crooked smile._

_“There is no way you can defeat me and all my troops with your men restrained by mine already. Your days on the Jolly Rodger are over,” she insisted._

_“I don’t need to defeat you. I simply need to get some help,” Hook said before kicking at Susan’s legs. She screamed as she fell, but had the sense to tighten her grip so Hook couldn’t steal it from her. But it wasn’t the sword he was after. Rather, he reached for her horn that was dangling at her side, ripping it off._

_“No!” she screamed as he pressed it to his lips and blew._

_No sound came out._

_“What the blazes?” Hook swore. “How does this thing work?”_

_“And I’ll take that back that you very much,” Susan said, scooping it up quickly. “It won’t work for you.”_

_“Everyone says all you have to do is blow it and help will always show up,” Hook said, confused._

_“Perhaps you are not worthy of my horn giving you aid,” Susan said condescendingly. “Silin, tie him up.”_

_The moment the Jolly Rodger was Narnia’s, Susan quickly sought out Mr. Tumnus, asking, “What was the meaning of that? I would have thought it would work for him.”_

_“The horn is yours, my Queen,” he explained._

_“But…It’s worked when I’ve given it to my siblings. And for some of our soldiers who had need of it,” she puzzled._

_“All of whom wished your Majesty well,” he explained. “The horn can tell the person’s intentions for using it. If it thinks the intentions would work against your Majesty, it will not blow. But if the intentions can help your Majesty or those you love, then it shall.”_

_Susan marveled at the revelation. “How do you know all this, Mr. Tumnus? I know you are a scholar, but I believed my horn to be one-of-a-kind.”_

_“Tis made of the ivory of the Talking White Elephant,” he explained. “When taken after an Elephant dies, it gives the user one wish if and only if the Elephant had given the user permission before it died. But Father Christmas’ magic must have tied the horn to you instead.”_

_“Your Majesty,” a badger said, coming up. “Pardon the interruption, but the pirate says he has valuable information he would exchange for his freedom and his ship.”_

_“Very well. Bring him to the captain’s office,” she instructed, heading over there and motioning to Captain Nemios to follow her._

_When Hook was brought in, he smiled his infuriating smile and said, “So, the high and majestic queen decided she would speak to me after all.”_

_“Speak quickly or I may decide to throw you to the sharks after all for wasting my time,” Susan said snappishly._

_“Alrighty lass. It’s about your loverboy, Rabadash,” he said indolently._

_“Refer to the Prince by his title, pirate,” she said tersely._

_“Fine._ Prince _Rabadash is planning on betraying you,” he said._

_Susan scoffed, but part of her had been worried about it all along and this just solidified each of those worries. “Making baseless claims with nothing to solidify them will not help your case.”_

_“You’ll get your evidence when you promise that I’ll get the Jolly Rodger back,” he said languidly._

_“So be it. Your proof?” Susan said succinctly._

_“Rabadash caught us for piracy a few months back. In exchange for our freedom while keeping our treasures, he paid us off to traverse these waters to make sure you actually headed to Calormen and board you and take you there ourselves otherwise,” Hook said._

_“Do you have anything to substantiate such accusations?” Susan said stoically, although a voice in her head made her want to believe the pirate, as dishonest as he may be._

_“Aye, we do. You gave him the itinerary for your trip, no?” he said._

_“So what of it?” she snapped._

_“There are copies in the trunk in my quarters,” he said._

_Susan betrayed her shock with a small, sharp gasp. She then took a deep breath to compose herself. “Very well. Captain, have your people search this pirate’s quarters.”_

_“What are we going to do if his tale turns out to be true?” Captain Nemios said._

_After pondering a moment, Susan said, “We cannot turn back now. My brother Edmund is already in Calormen negotiating details. They would hold him there if what the pirate said is true. We must travel for his sake and then there betray Rabadash before he could betray us thus.”_

_“I fear though if you venture into his clutches much harm may occur before we can flee,” Captain Nemios said, resting his paw on her shoulder._

_“Then we’ll just have to be quick,” Susan said determinedly._

“Where the Lion are we?” Edmund said, looking about.

“Pardon me,” Lucy said to Regina who was currently staring at them in shock. “Could you tell us where in England we are? And perchance would you happen to know our sister Susan Pevensie?”

“This…This is Storybrooke,” Regina said shakily. She glanced over to Rumplestiltskin who simply shrugged unhelpfully. “It’s in…America.”

“America! How’d we end up here?” Edmund exclaimed.

“Because this place has magic, unlike the rest of your world,” Regina said slowly.

“Magic! By Jove, that’s incredible!” Edmund said enthusiastically.

“How do you come across this horn?” Peter demanded, grasping the horn and taking it from Regina.

“I…It’s his shop,” Regina said, pointing to Rumpelstiltskin. The Pevensies all looked at Rumpelstiltskin as though trying to recognize him, but then giving up.

“A certain Miss Susan Pevensie Darling brought it to me,” Rumplestiltskin said. “Alas, I do not know where she is any longer.”

“How are we _ever_ going to find her?” Lucy said despondently.

“But!” Rumplestiltskin said with a glint in his eyes. “I can find her. For a price.”

“What price?” Peter said, his eyes narrowed.

“Let’s just say, I can’t leave town. But you can. And I have another person I need you to find as you look for your sister,” he said.

“I’ll find her for you,” Regina vowed. “I’m the Mayor; I have connections. And I was the one who blew the horn.”

“Why?” Lucy asked curiously.

“I…My son does not love me. He…He left me. I tried using magic to keep him with me but…I couldn’t do it. I mean, physically I could. But I wouldn’t. I might have him physically but,” she said.

“But love should not be forced,” Peter said softly.

“Exactly. But finding your sister…That might be what I need to do to show Henry that I’ve changed. That…That I could be a hero too,” Regina said, suddenly eager.

“You would do that for us?” Lucy said, gently touching her fingers to Regina’s arm.

“Yes. Your story was one of my son’s favorites. If I find Queen Susan, he’ll – ” Regina said.

“What do you mean, our story?” Peter interrupted.

“Why the…Oh. Of course you wouldn’t know. CS Lewis wrote a series of novels about your adventures in Narnia. Fiction of course, but since you are here, it must be true,” Regina explained.

“CS Lewis?” Peter frowned.

“Clive…Staples I believe. Lewis,” she said.

“Oh, Jack?” Edmund said, surprised.

“How the hell does one get Jack from Clive?” Regina said.

“Who’s Jack?” Lucy piped up.

“An old friend of mine,” Peter explained. “But…he didn’t know about Narnia. Unless you told him?”

Edmund shook his head. “Nope. Strange that. Guess we could ask Jack himself.”

“He…He’s dead. I’m sorry,” Regina said.

“Oh dear! When did he die?” Lucy said, wide eyed.

“Um…probably about half a century ago,” Regina said.

“It is now the twenty-first century,” Rumplestiltskin said.

The Pevensies fell into a stunned silence.

“Is…Is Susan even still alive?” Lucy attempted.

“If she isn’t, it’ll be even easier to find her thanks to death certificates,” Regina said determinedly. “How about we go over to my office?”

“I…I suppose that is our best bet,” Peter said shakily.

“And when that _fails_ , you can come to me,” Rumplestiltskin said with a dark look towards Regina.

“We…will keep that in mind,” Peter said reluctantly, not liking the feel of Rumplestiltskin.

_Narnia: Golden Ages_

_“Looks like your pirate friend was right,” Captain Nemios said._

_“That’s not even the worst of it,” Susan murmured softly._

_“What’s the worst of it?” Nemios said anxiously._

_“This is,” Susan said, shakily handing over a small box._

_“Is that…Great Lion! That’s not what I think it is, is it?” he asked anxiously._

_“It is,” Susan agreed._

_“What is it, your Majesty?” Mr. Tumnus said, walking up to them._

_“A heart,” Susan said, a sickened look upon her face. “I…I don’t suppose there’s anyone other than The Witch who can pull out hearts like this? Anything in your readings? Please don’t tell me this means_ she _is back again!”_

_“I…I’m afraid I cannot ease your mind, my Queen,” Tumnus said, also quite frightened._

_“What does your Majesty command?” Nemios said dutifully._

_Susan ran her hands nervously over the carvings on the box, thinking it over. “Bring me the pirate. I will question him.”_

_Within a few moments, the Narnians had Hook before Queen Susan once more. “Couldn’t resist me, lass?”_

_“Why was_ this _on your boat?” Susan said, ignoring the insult in her determination to get answers._

_“Just something I plundered. I’m a pirate, that’s rather what I do,” Hook said._

_“If you took one of her hearts, she’ll come after you. Get out of our realms! Now!” Susan ordered._

_“Can I get the Jolly Roger back?” Hook asked, bemused by Susan’s sudden anger._

_“Fine. Whatever. Just leave and never return!” Susan said._

_“Do you think that’ll keep her away, your Majesty?” Captain Nemios said, mainly because he did not believe it would at all._

_“Keep her away? No. If…If she plans to return, this will do absolutely nothing. But perhaps if she’s tracking him to get her lost heart back, him leaving will keep her from coming here,” Susan said, beginning to pace._

_“Wait, who’s tracking me?” Hook frowned._

_“A witch. Now I recommended you leave the moment my soldiers leave your ship unless you want both a witch and the Narnian navy on your tail,” Susan ordered. After Hook had been pushed back out of the room, Tumnus quickly went to Susan._

_“My Queen, how fare you? This sign of her must have frightened you in particular after what she did to you,” he said, concerned._

_“I … I can’t let what happened last time repeat itself at any cost,” she said determinedly, her voice strong, but her hands shaking._

_“Your Majesty, how can you ensure that? You…Forgive me, but you were not able to stop her before,” Tumnus said._

_Susan stared out in the distance. “I may be able to get help…”_

“So, Miss…?” Lucy began after they had piled into her car.

“Please. Call me Regina,” Regina said with a rare genuine smile.

“Beautiful name by the way. So, this city is called Storybrooke? And has magic? How is that possible?” she asked eagerly.

“One question at a time,” Regina said, amused by how much this young girl reminded her of Henry. “The town…is from another world. A curse brought us all here.”

“A curse? Great. Now we’re most likely going to have to fight another battle before we can find our sister,” Edmund said.

“We’re not getting involved in anything but finding Susan,” Peter argued.

“We also weren’t going to fight the White Witch and be Kings and Queens. And yet that clearly did not happen,” Edmund pointed out, raising his hands. “Just being realistic here.”

“It doesn’t matter. The curse was already broken. By true love’s kiss,” Regina explained, carefully omitting that she was the one who had cast the spell in the first place.

“Like…in the stories?” Edmund said skeptically.

“Very much like that. But it didn’t return us home, it merely returned our memories,” she said. “So that everyone could get their happily ever afters.”

“You sound bitter about that,” Lucy said curiously, but not quite suspiciously.

“This is my office,” Regina said curtly.

“That’s nice, but _I_ think you’re ignoring me,” Lucy pouted.

“Who was it that cast the curse anyways?” Peter suddenly asked, stopping as they walked up to her house.

“The…Evil Queen,” Regina said carefully.

“And…what is the Evil Queen’s relationship to you?” Edmund said suspiciously, his abilities to judge people not hindered by his death one bit. “Is…Are you the Evil Queen? Did you do it?”

“I did. It was me,” Regina said, whirling around to face them and see their reactions. She was sure they would despise her once they knew. “I’m the Evil Queen.”

“Maybe we should have gone with that man at the shop,” Peter muttered.

“Rumplestiltskin? Trust me, he’s far more dangerous,” Regina said through gritted teeth. “I’m not your enemy.”

“I’m not sure if Jack put it in his story, but if anyone knows about people being able to change, it’s me. So we’ll believe you if you say you’ve changed since you cursed everyone,” Edmund said magnanimously.

“Thank you,” Regina said with a perplexed smile as she opened the door and lead them in. “Few …few ever believe me when I try to do something…not evil.”

“Edmund tends to err on the side of believing people. But then there’s also the manner of the horn to help us believe you,” Peter said.

Regina frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I have no idea if Jack put this in his stories, but the horn only works for those who would help our sister,” Edmund explained. “And anyone who is or would be a friend to our sister is our friend too.”

“That bit wasn’t. Interesting. I wonder how the magic would know…” she frowned, trying to think of how that could work. She shook her head and continued, “But it wasn’t until after you came here that I decided to find your sister.”

“Then the horn must have known before you did,” Lucy said kindly.

“Right,” Regina said unsurely. As the villain, she wasn’t used to anything helping her that did not do so out of fear. Or deals like Rumplestiltskin. “Well, here are the files.”

“And…what is this?” Peter asked, puzzled.

“A laptop,” Regina said, putting in the password. “Um…Do you know what computers are?”

“Something…one…computes with?” Edmund attempted.

“It does do that as well. But I’m going to use it to find information,” Regina said. She began searching to files.

“Incredible,” Lucy said, looking over Regina’s shoulder.

“So this is how magic in your world works?” Peter asked.

Regina actually laughed at that. “No, this is from your world. Technology has simply progressed a lot since you, um…well, died.”

“Say what you want, looks like magic to me,” Edmund commented. “Is it at least magically enhanced?”

“No…And Michael,” Regina suddenly said unexpectedly.

“What’s Michael?” Lucy asked.

“Your brother-in-law. Found a wedding announcement in the British newspaper. Looks like your sister married into a very scandalous family with a background of mysteriously missing persons,” Regina said, reading about Michael’s missing siblings which were covered in the newspaper clipping. The author of the article mostly seemed interested in creating some sort of inspiration tripe of the couple filling the holes in each others’ hearts left from the deaths and disappearances of their siblings. Regina had never read anything so utterly sickening.

“Who is this Michael Darling? I’ve never heard of such a person,” Peter said, mystified.

“She must have met him after we died. But she was always so against marriage,” Edmund frowned.

“Really?” Regina said, surprised.

“She had some…bad experiences while we were ruling Narnia,” Edmund said tactfully.

“Rabadash?” Regina guessed.

“You know him?” Lucy asked, surprised.

“No. It’s in the stories,” Regina said. “Or at least, a version of the story is in the stories.”

“I can’t imagine what really occurred making a good night time story,” Edmund said cheekily. “It was bad. Really, really bad.”

“Love always is,” Regina said pessimistically.

“Trust me, there was no love there. But enough of that. Have you found any more news of our sister or this Michael?” Peter said impatiently.

Regina shot him a look. “As I said, this isn’t magic. Be patient.”

“Patience isn’t exactly Peter’s strong suit,” Lucy teased.

“According to this, I now know where Michael Darling used to work before he retired. I could call them and see if they have current information on him,” she said.

“Where did he work?” Peter asked.

“Yeah. Time to see if he’s good enough for our sister or not,” Edmund added.

“He worked for some place called Pan Divisions for quite awhile, but I can’t find any information about it anywhere. But then he worked as a lawyer in England and his partner is still running the firm,” Regina said.

For some odd reason, the Pevensies all felt a shiver at the mention of Pan Divisions, but could not quite figure out why and let it go.

“Let’s call. Right now,” Peter said emphatically, looking around for a phone and finally deciding the object that looked vaguely like what he remembered phones to look like must be what phones now were. “Ah, how do you…You just touch the numbers?”

“Alright then. I’ll call and hand the phone over,” Regina said, amused by how out of their element the Pevensies were in the modern age. Even though all others in Storybrooke seemed magically accustomed to the many new technologies of this world, the same effect seemed to completely pass by the Pevensies. “Actually, there’s technology called the speakerphone that allows everyone to hear and speak to the phone. Do you want me to do that?”

“Nifty,” Edmund said. “Sure.”

After a few seconds, an almost bored voice of a young teenager, most likely an intern, drawled, “Abbot and Abney. How may I help you?”

“We are trying to contact Michael Darling, a former partner. Do you have any information on him?” Regina said.

“Who’s asking?” the receptionist said in an almost suspicious tone, even though there was no reason Regina could find in which this would be all that suspicious.

“An…old friend,” Regina lied.

“He gave us strict instructions to only release his information to family members or his…wife’s dead family. Not sure why he added that last one. Weird really. I mean, dead is dead right? But anyways, I can’t give information to anyone else,” the receptionist suddenly snickered.

“Ahah, and just how are you suppose to identify if someone is a family member?” Peter attempted.

“For his family, I’m supposed to ask the name of their childhood friend who flew away and where he ended up. I can only assume flew away means run away or something. So mysterious, isn’t it? And for his sister’s dead family, I’m supposed to ask two questions. One, the finest room in house where they lived for several decades, which makes no freaking sense since they were kids when they died if the newspaper clippings I found are true. And two, the name of the person who took her heart long before she met Michael and I best not word it any other way,” the receptionist said, sounding like she was popping some bubble gum.

“Oh, the first one’s easy. She always loved the library of Cair Paravel the best out of all of the rooms,” Lucy piped up. There was suddenly a clatter as though the receptionist had dropped the phone in shock.

“What the Tash is the other one?” Peter whispered, bewildered since Susan was known for having a guarded heart.

“Sorry, I …ah…I didn’t expect someone to _actually_ answer that. Especially not correctly,” the receptionist said as the Pevensies all racked their brains for who could have taken Susan’s heart. Edmund suddenly shifted his focus to the fact that Michael and Susan had been particular about the wording. Edmund knew that there had been many times that he and Susan had played with word games and double meanings and such as a game of theirs. Suddenly, it dawned on him.

“She called herself the Queen of Hearts. We…We just called her The Witch,” Edmund said.

“That’s…that’s precisely what she said her dead siblings would say. How…How is that possible? What the f*** is happening?” the receptionist cursed in shock.

“Anyways, can we please have their contact information?” Regina cut off.

“Yeah,” the receptionist said. After Regina grabbed a pen and notepad, the receptionist quickly stammered out some phone numbers and the location of the retirement home that Susan and Michael had been living at for quite some time.

“Thank you. You’ve been most helpful,” Regina said to the receptionist.

“Can you explain what the f*** is going on?” she asked.

“No. Goodbye,” Regina said curtly.

“Kinda feel sorry for her. That must be a lot to take in all at once,” Edmund said.

“Poor girl,” Lucy agreed.

“Let’s ring Susan then,” Peter said, his mind set solidly on his sister.

“The Queen of Hearts,” Regina said slowly. “Cora?”

“Who’s Cora?” Lucy frowned.

“The…The name of the Queen of Hearts that I know. Who had a reputation of ripping out hearts,” Regina said shakily.

“You know her?” Peter said, willing to be distracted for a moment.

“She…why was she in _Narnia_?” Regina frowned.

“She…wanted Animal hearts for her _collection_ ,” Peter spat angrily. “What devilish sorcery she planned to use them for we do not know. But she had not anticipated the magic of the Narnian Trees and Waters which she was no match for. How do you know her?”

“She…is…was….my mother,” Regina said uncertainly.

After a few moments of stunned silence, Edmund finally asked, “So, ahh, the ripping out hearts thingie. That doesn’t run in the family, does it?”

“I…I am capable of doing so. But don’t worry. Your hearts are perfectly safe from me,” Regina said, amused now that she was sure the Pevensies weren’t about to turn on her simply because of that. That moment, the phone suddenly rang. “I…That might be my son. Or else it’s almost certainly about him. Do you mind?”

“But of course. And then we call Susan?” Peter said anxiously.

“Of course,” Regina said distractedly.

While she talked, the Pevensies shuffled to the side in an illusion of giving her privacy, but in reality to talk amongst themselves while Regina was distracted.

“I like her,” Lucy said.

“I agree she’s our best option for now, but can we really trust her? Particularly the daughter of The Witch? Don’t you remember how she controlled Susan for so long?” Peter pointed out. “I’m not so sure I want anyone capable of doing that around Susan ever again, even if Regina seems much more trustworthy than her mother.”

“Susan said she made a deal to make sure that didn’t happen again,” Edmund pointed out. “Although I suppose she never got the chance to see if the deal worked or not since by the Lion’s Grace, The Witch never did come back.”

“Well, I think Regina really does want to help,” Lucy said stubbornly.

“She’s off the phone,” Edmund suddenly said, redirecting their attention.

“That…That was Henry,” Regina said, looking as though she had just heard the most amazing news. “He wants to meet me for lunch.”

“Your son?” Edmund clarified. After she nodded the Pevensies exchanged a glance.

“I hope you don’t mind us using your phone while you’re gone?” Edmund asked. “I hope it goes well with your son.”

“Thank you,” Regina said, almost surprised. Few ever had kind words for her.

After Regina left, Peter pointed out, “If her son takes her back…that’s the only reason why she was willing to help us.”

“All we needed was contact information. Let’s find our sister,” Edmund said, trying to figure out the phone. “Talk…That was the last button she pressed, right?”

“That would make sense,” Lucy shrugged.

“Hello?” Edmund attempted when it sounded like someone had picked up.

“The Lily Garden Retirement Home. How may I help you?” a cool voice asked.

“May I speak with either Susan Pevensie Darling or Michael Darling?” he asked.

“Just a sec….They vacated this morning. In the middle of their lease even,” the voice said.

“What? Did they leave any way to contact them?” Edmund said anxiously.

“Yes. They gave a number,” she said. Edmund grabbed the pad Regina had used and wrote down the number.

“Thank you,” he said politely before hanging up. “Alright. New number.”

But when they called the new number, they were surprised to hear, “Regina, why are you calling me?”

“Ah, who is this?” Lucy attemped.

“Well, you’re not Regina,” he said. “And this is Mr. Gold.”

“Isn’t that the store we were just at?” Edmund whispered to his siblings who nodded with the same confused looks on their faces.

From behind them, they suddenly heard, “Who are _you?_ ”

_Narnia: Golden Ages_

_“Rum…Rumpelstiltskin?” Susan said doubtfully to Morgana La Fey. Lucy had met Morgana in the depths of a dark cave where she had fallen through a portal from her world when she had hastily miscast a spell in fear for her life when her own half-brother decided he would rather see her dead than to allow her any power. Susan and Lucy, sensing a sister in the continual fight to be strong women in a patriarchal world, quickly befriended Morgana who now often provided magic for them, even though she was reluctant to interact much with anyone else._

_“Yes. I know of him from my own world. But hide your face with your hood and tell him not your name. He deals with names,” she said._

_“Deals with names?” Susan said dubiously, not understanding her._

_“Yes. To him, names are power. Do not let him have any power over you. Thankfully, in this world, I do not think his powers over the future will be strong, so he will not already know you,” Morgana said._

_“And just how are you going to call him here into this world?” Susan asked. “And why did you insist I bring the coat I wore when I first entered Narnia?”_

_“I know he is looking for a world without magic. He tried asking me about it, but I had not heard of such a world until I spoke with you about your homeland. This coat may be a bargaining tool. And as for calling him…” Morgana said, tossing her hair back and pulling out a thick, black wand. “Dark One, Rumpelstiltskin! Out of thy world, I, the Mistress of Darkness, summon thee!”_

_“You called, dearie?” a creature with the appearance of a human and the skin of a crocodile cackled. Susan pulled her hood farther over her eyes, not wanting the creature – an imp, she decided it must be – to identify her. “Queen Morgana. What a pleasure. And who is this?”_

_“A friend of mine who wishes to make a deal. But her name is her business, not yours,” Morgana insisted._

_“I can’t help you unless I know who you are,” Rumpelstiltskin said to Susan._

_“I go by many names,” she said mysteriously._

_“Well, you need to at least give me one of them. No name, no deal,” the imp said._

_Susan considered simply telling him her title to suffice as a name, but she knew her identity as Queen of Narnia would only result in the imp realizing just how much power he could obtain in making a deal with her. And while he may not yet know her true name, Susan, it would not be difficult to link it to Narnia. She thought back to her trip to the Seven Isles. After living in Narnia for so long, she had a greater affinity for animals and trees where she could even understand those that were mute. In shock, the people of the Seven Isles had dubbed her with a name for her talent. “Pocahontas.”_

_“Hmm…interesting name, dearie. Now, what is it you want?” he asked._

_“A spell to protect my heart from being ripped out,” she said. “Can you do it?”_

_“Easy enough, that. But what have you for me in return? And how am I getting back to my world?” he said suspiciously as though he suspected she was wasting his time._

_“I can get you back easily,” Morgana said with an almost bored tone of voice. “And ah, Pocahontas indeed does have something you will value.”_

_“I hear you are searching for a world without magic,” she said. That caught the imp’s attention._

_“Now you have my interest. You have information of such a land?”_

_“This winter coat my valet has is from such a world. I will give you the coat in exchange for the spell,” Susan bartered. She could only hope that the coat would not be enough for the imp to be unleashed upon Earth._

_“Let me see it,” he said, crooking his finger. Tumnus nervously stepped forward to let the imp feel it, but keep a tight grip on it._

_“Ah, yes. We…have a deal!” he said excitedly. Next thing Susan knew, the imp reached in and yanked her heart out as the Queen of Hearts had once._

_“What?” she screamed in agony. Her guards quickly surrounded the imp, swords drawn, teeth and claws bared. Morgana, realizing what was going on, held her hands up to use magic to stop them if needed. But just in case Rumpelstiltskin was not to be trusted, she was also prepared to use magic to stop him from damaging Susan’s heart._

_“Nothing big, dearie. I just need your heart_ outside _to cast the spell,” he said, waving his hand over it as it glowed brightly. “There we go. And now I’ll just – ” at this, he pushed the heart back into her body, making her gasp again – “There! Now no one will ever be able to remove your heart again! Now. The coat.”_

_Once Susan had regain her breath, she nodded to Tumnus to hand over the coat._

_“Heeheehee! Good doing business with you, dearie! Now, I’ll be off if you don’t mind,” he said._

_“Of course,” Morgana agreed, breaking the wand and therefore destroying the magic keeping him in Narnia._

_“Morgana…if he did find his way into my world…” Susan began._

_“Then I’ll give you this to find him with,” Morgana offered, holding out an enchanted compass. “You never know when magic may be helpful.”_

_“Why would I ever want his magic?” Susan scoffed._

_“You never know.”_

“How much will get us to Storybrooke, Maine?” Susan asked as she and Michael slowly got into a taxi.

“In Maine? Sorry, Miss, do you not realize this is Atlanta, Georgia?” the driver said, most likely attributing their distance from their location due to confusion from old age.

“Yes. But it was the last flight out to America and we need to get to Storybrooke right away. At our age, if you suddenly get good news, you don’t wait until the next morning since you never know for sure if there will be a next morning,” Michael said jollily.

“Will this cover it?” Susan asked, handing over a stack of hundred-dollar bills.

“How the hell…you sure don’t look like drug dealers,” the driver said suspiciously.

“Can you get us there or should we go to another cab?” Susan said testily. Even in her old age, she had yet to learn the art of patience. Although having her siblings at the end of this journey made her patience even shorter than normal.

“Yes, ma’am!” he said.

“And an extra hundred if you really step on it,” Susan added.

“Usually the people who say that are ‘bout half your age,” the driver muttered, although he obliged.

“Soon you’ll see them again,” Michael said, taking his wife’s wrinkled hand into his and squeezing it tightly. “Stop being so tense.”

“It…It’s not just that,” she admitted.

“If they are even a sliver of as noble as you describe them as being, they’ll forgive you instantly. And you are their sister. They aren’t going to reject you,” Michael assured, their many years together making him quick to understand Susan’s anxiety.

“I can only hope so,” she said softly, resting her head on his shoulder.


End file.
